Yeah it should go without saying that there’s no support on a counterfeit device. I assume you have strict knowledge of serial number allocation etc, Sam? Don’t want to see you get screwed over in the future here.
We can identify clones trivially.
MAC addresses aren’t serials though. So I’ve reached out to the OP.
I’ll give this thread an update when I have more details.
Sam
Maybe it’s off topic but I booted libreelec from SD card just for testing without any problem. Everything is working from user point of view (4K, HDR, audio passthrough, ac wifi) except LAN connector.
Ifconfig -a says eth0 is present and have the good MAC address but in the GUI there is no any trace of wired connection avalible.
If you need any help discovering what this device really is I’m happy to assist but from Monday morning I will be on to return it to the seller.
Guess your manufacturer is selling your OEM X96 version to other customers as well (minus whatever you add/change in the UK of course). Chinese manufacturer sell OEMs they did for other customers to anyone who ask. They don’t care as long as you hit the OEM MOQ from my experience in other areas.
The person on ebay just wants to pocket the difference in buying the bare unit in in China vs. your retail price that is basically for support and the time you spent on OSMC, which is well worth the surcharge as everyone knows.
Well you have a name and address from ebay, time to talk to your lawyer. Should be no problem getting it rid of ebay though, given that you have registered trademark. Just let your lawyer do his thing. Ebay is usually very cooperative when it comes to trademark infringement and knockoffs. Should be no problem to get that sellers listing removed.
Keep us updated…
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Another strange thing. Take a look at the power plug. This is not the kind of power plug used in Germany and in the ebay add i cannot choose a different power plug. Option A) coincedence that they provided the correct Power Plug
Option B) they have different Versions of the Vero 4k+ so they can provide the needed power plug depending on the location of the buyer.
With a little Help from Google you can see that the seller runs an outlet store. This is not the first store of that kind that sells Fake Items or Items with unknown origin in Germany.
I hope Sam, going forward, can use some sort of token system, perhaps in the next Vero, whenever that may be. Some account-based authentication or something to protect himself. The last thing we need is OSMC going under because of thieves.
While we all appreciate a completely open platform, it’s not worth it at the cost of the very product/support we all know and move.
I’m sure what happens next is priority #1 for Sam.
As long as Sam and his staff are as dedicated to help users and improve their software I don’t really see how knock-offs could harm them. Even if the Chinese are selling a box that looks the same if it’s not supported by the osmc team it’s just an other kodi box and for the people that want just a cheap kodi box vero isn’t the first choice anyway
Agreed. Have to see what happens.
The problem here is that users may not realise that the item is not genuine. It looks like the devices are selling on eBay.
This can damage our brand.
Sam
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I’ve been working with @Zsxy to work out what’d happened here and we appear to have got to the bottom of things.
Things didn’t seem quite right, because the seller has a large physical outlet in Germany as well as a substantial sales record on eBay, with very little negative feedback or complaints.
He also only had a small number of stock available; suggesting that he wasn’t getting the product in volume capacity.
If you look closely at the photos posted, you’ll see that the manual doesn’t mention the Vero 4K +.
In March 2018, we were sampling the Vero 4K + at early stages. We didn’t know what to call it at the time, so we did the usual: print assets, make sure everything will fit in the box, and start bringing up the hardware. Samples were lost by UPS, and we made a claim with them which was successful. However, UPS will auction off unclaimed merchandise / merchandise that they cannot return to the shipper or recipient. This is where the eBay seller says that they have obtained the goods.
The seller looks like a wholesaler, and he may receive some or all of his inventory from such auctions. My guess is that he saw the packaging, he searched for ‘Vero 4K +’ and matched the RRP fairly closely thinking he had received a genuine item. However, he would’ve in fact received samples with an older design which would not have been used in the final iteration of the 4K +.
After getting in touch with the seller, the listing has been removed from eBay.
Our supply chain is robust, so I would’ve been surprised if the design had leaked. The housing for the Vero 4K + is a public mould and the manuals / printing materials can be found online quite trivially, but the hardware design itself is still fortunately under wraps. I suspect it would take a very large MOQ to persuade a supplier to defect to the other side, and there would be legal implications in doing so.
I think we will have to reward @Zsxy for reporting this.
Sam
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That is very good to hear and makes perfect sense. Also glad that there was nobody with bad faith involved. Your really can‘t blame the seller if this story turns out to be true. I would hate if OSMC and the products involved would become a target for fakes and stuff. The Vero 4k+ has such a great reputation in the community.
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Also thumps up to Zsxy. Imo you should reward him for bringing the issue as soon as possible to your attention and helping you resolving the matter. Also he was incredibly calm and relaxed, I have seen people completely losing their mind when receiving fake or faulty devices.
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Well — I’m not keen on UPS’ actions. They’ll argue that they won’t open the cartons and they’re sold as is; but there’s a big OSMC Vero marking on all cartons.
But it’s good to conclude.
S
2 Likes